A homophobic message scrawled on an Edmonton student's workplace Valentine's Day card triggered outrage on social media Sunday.

Edmonton mother Shelley Bramhoff Sikorski took to Facebook late Saturday to decry the treatment of her son, Degas Sikorski, who works at the north Edmonton party supplies store Party City. Sikorski said her son arrived at work on Saturday night to find that a "gutless" co-worker had scrawled "Faggot, you are not getting shifts for a reason" on a Valentine's Day card from his supervisor.

"I am beyond livid," she wrote. "This is definitely a hate message."

Sikorski said her son has been working at Party City for the past three years to put himself through university but his hours started to be cut around Christmas when management changed at the store.

The post was soon shared online by Edmonton social media personality Kathleen Smith, prompting a massive backlash against the company and widespread support for the Sikorski family. Party City became a nationally trending Twitter topic Sunday afternoon.

Some provincial politicians also weighed in on the hateful valentine.

"Hatred lives on where darkness and ignorance have yet to be swept away, on Valentine's Day no less," tweeted Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke, noting hate isn't just a problem in Edmonton.

Leduc-Beaumont MLA Shaye Anderson called the message "disgusting" while Calgary-Hawkwood MLA Michael Connelly, who is one of three openly gay MLAs, said "there will always be bigots, it's only how we as a society deal with them that changes."

A supervisor at the store said she was aware of the situation and that the matter was being investigated. In an email, Party City corporate spokesperson Ressa Tomkiewicz confirmed the company is looking into the matter.

Party City does not condone this behavior and is committed to creating a fair and inclusive working environment," she said.

As Advertised in the Edmonton SUN

A homophobic message scrawled on an Edmonton youth's workplace Valentine's Day card triggered outrage on social media Sunday.

Edmonton mother Shelley Bramhoff Sikorski took to Facebook late Saturday to decry the treatment of her son, Degas Sikorski, who works at the north Edmonton party supplies store Party City. Sikorski said her son arrived at work on Saturday night to find that a "gutless" co-worker had scrawled "Faggot, you are not getting shifts for a reason" on a Valentine's Day card from his supervisor.

"I am beyond livid," she wrote. "This is definitely a hate message."

Sikorski said her son has been working at Party City for the past three years to put himself through university but his hours started to be cut around Christmas when management changed at the store.

The post was soon shared online by Edmonton social media personality Kathleen Smith, prompting a massive backlash against the company and widespread support for the Sikorski family. Party C